What's on the workbench!

[McColm]

Thanks,  that's what I had in mind 

[McColm]

Wednesday 29th April 2020

I've changed my mind on the Sikorsky Sea Dragon AEW in 1/72 scale,  parts from the Hobbycraft  V-22 Osprey have been added,  so the rotor head and the tail rotor have been removed.
PSR continues on the Fairey-Bell Sea Lion anti-surface anti submarine helicopter.

[McColm]

Thursday 30th April 2020

The parts from the Hobbycraft 1/72 V-22 have turned out to be a godsend for me to be able to improve the now almost unrecognisable Airfix Rotodyne and the Hasegawa MH-53E which does look good with the
tilt-engines from the Osprey with its new twin tail fins,  I admit that they are not inline but it adds a bit of character to the build. The rotor blades have been trimmed to avoid striking the fuel tanks.
I now know why the Mach2  Avro York was so cheap on eBay,  although secondhand it had dirty parts and some of the misted windows were missing. The fuselage does have gaps at the front end.
This will be my fourth attempt at building one using spares from the Revell Avro Shackleton and kit. The Shackleton wings do fit and the engines give the appearance of the York C.2. This time around I am determined to fit a bomb bay and have the bomb doors in the open position.
In my mind the Avro Yorktown MR.1 replaces the Avro Lincoln in the maritime patrol role,  it can still be used as a conventional bomber and will have a forward upper turret,  plus another one towards the rear but not capable of shooting it's rear tail fins off. Additional weapons or sensors will be carried underneath the wings as the ground clearance is still a problem until the Avro Shackleton becomes available.
Paint scheme,  well I would like something similar to the Avro Shackleton T4.
My problems with PayPal have been resolved and I now have an account with them so I can sell my builds on Ebay. My little sister  Jill Wright has a Wellbeing course on Facebook. It's free to join and you can check out her other online services however some of these require payment but she does get very good independent reviews.
Next week I am on nights Tuesday to Saturday (subject to change) so fingers crossed I should have started the paint stage on the Sea Dragon. 

[TheChronicOne]

Work schedule wreaks havoc on the hobby time lately. You'll get back to it... might have to refresh yourself on the plan of attack... but she'll be waiting. 

[McColm]

Work schedule wreaks havoc on the hobby time lately. You'll get back to it... might have to refresh yourself on the plan of attack... but she'll be waiting. 

[McColm]

Tuesday 5th May 2020

Yesterday I received two parcels,  one is the Revell H-2013 Messerschmitt Me 321 B-1 Giant  in 1/72 scale I was hoping that it fit the Blohm &Voss
BV-222 Viking but it's smaller. So it looks like the Viking will become the Tradewind prototype.
The other parcel came from Japan  curiosity of Toshihiko  Shimizu. It's my first 3D printed plastic 1/72 HS Andover AEW.  There's no instructions with the kit, but I do have the Formaplane vacform HS C-1 Andover kit in the stash which comes with several 1/72 line drawings.
I have yet to find any glazed windows,  although the set does come with masking for the windows and adhesive markings instead of decals. I will probably download the instructions in the morning..

[McColm]

Friday 8th May 2020

Been working on the Mach2 Vickers VC10, just glued the two fuselage halves together. Whilst that was drying I made a T-tail from the parts of the Heller 1/72 Boeing E-3A/C AWACS and glued the Mach2 VC10 engines to the AWACS fuselage,  instead of using the rotodome provided in kit I'm thinking of using the David J.Parkins resin JSTARS mounted above the fuselage sort of Eeryie layout.
I have kept the VC10 T-tail from the Mach2 kit and although this doesn't look right it will be used on the Mach2 fuselage,  the engines will be from the Mach2 Martin SeaMaster fitted above the wings. These should hide any gaps due to the ill fitting wings.
I have also managed to cut out the two vacform fuselage halves of the 1/72 Convair Tradewind. My first thought was to use the front section on the Heller DC-6B to create the Aviation Traders ATL-98 Carvair. The DC-6B may be a bit narrow but a C-130 might be better. As the tail section looks a bit too big. Another idea is a jet version of the Tradewind. 

[McColm]

Thursday 28th May 2020

So I had a mini break and a chance to recycle some of my old started builds which went well. Son of The Mighty Thor has gone exceedingly well. Yes the old Airfix Avro Vulcan B.2 really does fit the Mach2 Martin SeaMaster its a better fit than the Matchbox/Revell HP Victor K2.  So the Majestic and the Magestic live another day.
The Victor looks good with the Airfix BAe Nimrod MR.2P parts , whereas the Vulcan could have air-to-air silos along the spine similar to those on the Caspian Sea Monster.

Then there's the E.E/BAC Frightning, yes the Matchbox T.55 Lightning does fit on the front of the Dassault Mirage IVP and the triple shock cones do look cool.
The Vickers Breguet Br1250 Mystery is to receive the T-tail treatment from the Mach2 Martin SeaMaster, also the landing gear housing similar to the Vickers Valiant B.2.

[McColm]

Tuesday 2nd June 2020

Progress on 'Eric the Wiking 'is going really well,  although you can't see a great deal of details through any of the windows along the 1/72 Revell Blohm & Voss BV-222 I have managed to add a cocktail/viewing area where the wing stubs would have been using clear plastic packaging and off cuts from vacform glazing mounts. I shall be using the parts from the Revell kit for this area as I have used blanking plates from a Avro Lancaster kit for the upper turrets, the section just behind the cockpit.
The wings for 'Eric the Wiking ' come from the 1/72 AMT/ERTL Northrop  X/YB-35 Flying Wing which has been flipped over. The spine has been removed and widened so if fits snugly over the 'Wiking ' fuselage. I have also added a pair of B-52G engines to the top of the wing. Making this a four engined jet flying boat. The wheel wells will be used for extra seating with a clear vacform roof .I just have to find a pair of matching canopies. I have found a pair of main landing legs from a B-36.
I'm using the Mach2 Martin SeaMaster beaching cradle as this seems to fit the Wiking when I am gluing interior fittings. It's not as good as the one Kit built but the basic parts are there.
I ran out of putty/filler hence the delays of my other builds.

[McColm]

Wednesday 3rd June 2020

Lots of parcels arrived including the 1/72 Combat Kit KCR-007 BAe Mantis.
Although it is a unmanned autonomous system advanced concept technology demonstrator I think I can convert it into a twin seat or single seat aircraft.  I have tried using the parts from a Airfix Shorts Tucano for the seats but the clear canopy doesn't fit and an alternative would be sourced from the spares box.
Another parcel had the Airfix 1/72 Lockheed F-117A  Nighthawk which is slightly bigger than the Matchbox/Revell F-117 Shadowhawk.  The plan was to raid the Airfix kit for spare parts but I think I can use most of the kit on the Convair 'Fish Finger ' . A kitbash of the B-58 wing and stealth fighter fuselage glued on top of it.
The Shadowhawk has a different exhaust system to that of the Nighthawk  which I intend to keep.
The next box was the 1/72 Modelcollect B-52G Broken Arrow 1966, with
B-28 nuclear bombs. You get two different tail guns as this is an early version. This might be a straight out of the box build  instead of a flying boat variant,  if I can get the wings of the B-36 Peacemaker that might work.
Although I still have another Northrop Y/XB-35 flying wing in the stash.
A kit that I have been trying to find for ages,  the Airfix Avro Lancaster B.II, yes I will use the wings on the Mach2 Avro York  as well as other parts from the kit.
The last box was the 1/72 Mach2 Martin RB-57F, I know it's faults as I have tried to build one before. This time a raid in the spares box should reveal a new cockpit and nose. A metal landing gear will also be helpful.

[McColm]

Thursday 11th June 2020

More parcels arrived today including the 1/72 Monogram B-36 without any glazing and the odd propeller snapped off in the box. The vacform Convair Tradewind R3Y-2 when trimmed does fit over the front end of the Peacemaker,  so does the resin radome from the BAe Nimrod AEW.3 conversion set which means I will probably buy the nose glazing YB-36 set.
The Revell 1/24 Ford Gran Torino has the front bench seats,  although with a bit of trimming you can have two individual seats although you would have to modify the front indicators for the later model.
The Italeri EH-101 Canadian helicopter has almost the same dimensions as the Fairey Rotodyne. This could be modified into helicopter mode. I think that I have some Fairey Rotodyne decals laying about somewhere.
There's more issues with the Heller Boeing E-3A/C so this has been binned,  I have kept the engines and rotodome,  landing gear plus wheels.
I still have the 1/100 il-62 so that will become my VC10 look-alike.

[McColm]

Friday 12th June 2020

Sometimes the best ideas are starring you in the face. Take my 1/72 Lockheed Heliplane,  I have had problems fitting the rotor blades from the Mil-26 Halo helicopter as they keep snapping off everytime I try and move the model.  I had a brainwave and removed the rotor pin, in my head the two pairs of engine pods on the side of the fuselage can swivel allowing the thrust generated to lift the Heliplane off the ground for vertical flight and then for the forward flight mode. Thus creating a V/STOL  jet Heliplane,  ah Steven if it doesn't have any rotors how can you class this as a Heliplane?
Answer it still retains the rotor stack from the Mil-26 Halo, plus the two helicopter engines for forward flight. So it's a six engined beastie.
I'm going to rename this build Regulus,  I have used the concave windows from two  Chinook helicopter kits on this build and leftover parts from a AC-130H for additional lumps & bumps.  A slight touch up on the painting side is needed with the all important nose wheel landing gear before the decals are put on.
The paint scheme is a blotchy bluey grey which seems to work.
Another idea that I am toying with is 'Cops Cars', not the regular Police Force but the  TV series cars in plastic as opposed to diecast.  That's not too much of a problem for the American Cop shows, but becomes difficult for the British ones.

[McColm]

Thursday 18th June 2020

Waiting for me when I arrived home were several boxes. The 1/72 Airwaves Bristol Britannia had the nose cone for the Canberra T.17 inside it. This will be used on the Mach2 RB-57F.
Another box had a damaged 1/144 Boeing 747 in the British Airways colour scheme it was missing an engine and no landing gear. One wing had detached. I do have a Revell Boeing 747 100 series in the stash with the intention of using a pair of B-52G engines. I'm not too sure whether this build would qualify in the GB prototypes as the idea is taken from one of the James Bond films.
Due to the amount of work involved to restore the B.A. 747, I'm thinking a shoulder mounted wing. I can take a few styling clues from the 1/144 Lockheed C-5B that also requires a lot of restoration work to get it into a reasonable condition or go down the route of the Martin SeaMistress.

[McColm]

Friday 12th June 2020

Sometimes the best ideas are starring you in the face. Take my 1/72 Lockheed Heliplane,  I have had problems fitting the rotor blades from the Mil-26 Halo helicopter as they keep snapping off everytime I try and move the model.  I had a brainwave and removed the rotor pin, in my head the two pairs of engine pods on the side of the fuselage can swivel allowing the thrust generated to lift the Heliplane off the ground for vertical flight and then for the forward flight mode. Thus creating a V/STOL  jet Heliplane,  ah Steven if it doesn't have any rotors how can you class this as a Heliplane?
Answer it still retains the rotor stack from the Mil-26 Halo, plus the two helicopter engines for forward flight. So it's a six engined beastie.
I'm going to rename this build Regulus,  I have used the concave windows from two  Chinook helicopter kits on this build and leftover parts from a AC-130H for additional lumps & bumps.  A slight touch up on the painting side is needed with the all important nose wheel landing gear before the decals are put on.
The paint scheme is a blotchy bluey grey which seems to work.
Another idea that I am toying with is 'Cops Cars', not the regular Police Force but the  TV series cars in plastic as opposed to diecast.  That's not too much of a problem for the American Cop shows, but becomes difficult for the British ones.

Tuesday 23rd June 2020
Regulus is now an amphibious Heliplane,  now I know what kit to buy I will be using another one on the Lockheed
SC-130MRA build.
The SJMc Industries Shadow AEW.1 now has a twin boom twin tail fitted as of this morning.
I have been testing Vallejo 100% Acrylic resin plastic putty on my builds. It has a plastic nozzle attachment and dries white so you can paint over it.

[McColm]

Monday 29th June 2020

Whiffing or placing bids on a well known auction site is no cure for insomnia.
I have turned a perfectly normal 1/72 Heller Lockheed L-749 Constellation into a four engined turbofaned version. The rear fuselage is slightly askew or the rear tail fins are twisted on the right. Apart from snapping off the nose wheel landing leg , Every thing else seems to be in order.
A closer inspection reveals that I added a pair of resin tail fins from the RVHP Lockheed PO-1W (VW-2) Short Warning Star conversion set. This contains the smaller radome,  the height finding radar,  longer nose, engines,  props and larger vertical tail stabilizers used on the longer R7V-1 and WV-2 EC-121 Warning Star.
Other packages arrived throughout the day including the Airfix 1/72 HP Victor B.Mk2(BS), 1/72 MPM Vickers Wellington MkIV with R-1830 engines (I never knew that they were fitted to a Wellington!), Fujimi Grumman E-2C Hawkeye and a badly painted 1/24 Jaguar MkII Saloon with the rear window smudged with a glued finger print. There's a problem with the front linkage of the steering and the chrome pipping. It would be easier to turn this into a boy racer or stock car.